Many visors employed in automobiles have lighted vanity mirrors. Such vanity mirrors are conventionally located on the side of the visor facing the occupant when the visor is in the lowered position. The use of a sliding panel to activate the lights associated with such a vanity mirror is also well known in the art.
Typically, such devices have required complicated switches and electrical componentry. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,011 to Boote et al discloses an illuminated vanity mirror package for a visor which includes a cam operated switch to close a circuit for illuminating lights about the mirror when the cover is moved from a closed to an open position. In such a configuration, additional conductors are required between the electrical contacts and the lamps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,537 to Fisher et al discloses another visor having an illuminated mirror which uses a conventional trip switch mounted about the mirror to close the electrical circuit for the lights when the vanity door is moved from its closed position to its open position. This configuration requires the use of additional components in order to effectively function.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,391 to Dykstra discloses a vanity mirror package for a visor which provides a light contained within the handle for illuminating the mirror. In this configuration, the light is illuminated the moment the panel is moved toward the open position, the light remaining illuminated until the panel is in the closed position.
The present invention incorporates all of the known benefits of sliding-door type vanity mirrors while improving the switch mechanism.